San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-06-27

of war, at which all the commanders of the
regiments were present 1t was evident 10 US
that before very long we should be attacked
in overwhelming force. Indeed, from our
point of vantage on the hill we could see
troops mastering, and messengers going
forth from Loo in every direction, doubtless
Ia summon regiments TO the kings assistance.
We had on our side about twenty thousand
men, composed Of seven of the best regi-
ments of the country. Twala had, so Infa
docs and the chiefs calculated, at least thir
ty to thirty-live thousand on whom he could
rely at present assembled in Loo, and they
thought that by midday on the morrow he
would be able to gather another five thou
sand or more 10 his aid. II was of course,
possible that some Of his troops would desert
and come over TO u.s. but II was not a cOntn-
gency that could be TcCkOned on. Mean.
| while, II was clear that active preparations
were being made TO subdue u.s. Already
strong bodies of armed men were patrOling
round and round the foot of the hill, and
there were other signs of a coming attack
lnfadOOs and the chiefs, however, were OF
| opinion that no attack would be made that
night which would be devoted TO preparation
and to the removal by every possible means
of the moral effect produced upon the minds
of the sOldiery by the supposed magical
darkening of the sun. The attack would be
on the morrow, they said, and they proved
TO be right.
Meanwhile, we set TO work 10 strengthen
the position as much as possible. Nearly the
entire force was turned out and in the two
hours which yet remained to shutdown won
ders were done. The paths up the hill
| which was rather a sanitOrium than a fort
ress, being used generally as the camping
| Dllpp pt FpUmputS suffering from
service in unhealthy portions of the country,
were carefully blocked with masses OF
stones, and every other possible approach
was made as impregnabe as time would
| allow. Piles of powders were collected at
| various spots to be rolled down upon an ad-
vancing enemy, stations were appointed to
| different regiments, and every other prepare
| ton which our joint ingenuity could suggest
| was taken.
| just before shutdown we perceived a small
| company of men advancing toward US from
the direction of Loo, one of whom bore
| palm-leaf in his hand as a sign that he came
| as a herald.
As he came lgnOsi InfadOos, one or two
| chiefs, and ourselves went down to the foot
of the mountain to meet him. He was gal.
lant-lOOking fellow, with the regulation
leOpard-skin cloak.
"GrectingW he cried, as he came near;
'the kings greeting to those who make un.
holy war against the king; the lions greet
ing to the jackas who snarl round his
| heels"
| Speak" | said
''These are the kings words. Surrender to
the kings mercy ere worse thing befall We.
Already the shoulder has been torn from
the black bull, and the king drives him
bleeding about the camp"
What are Twala's terms?' | asked fol-
| curiosity.
| His terms are merciful, worthy of king.
| These are the words of Twaa the one-eyed,
| the mighty, the husband of a thousand
wives, lord of the Kukuanas, keeper of the
| great ROAD (SOlOmOn's Road, beloved of the
strange ones who sit in silence at the noun
tains yOnder (the three WitrheS), calf of the
| black COW, elephant whose tread shakes the
earth, huge one, black one, wise one, king
| from generation to generation! these are the
words of Twala: Il will have mercy and be
satisfied with little blood. One in every
ten shall die the rest shall go free; but the
| white man Incubu, who slew SCTagga, my
son, and the black man, his servant, who
| pretendS to my throne and lnfadOOs, my
| brother, who brews rebellion against me,
these shall die by torture as an offering to
the silent Ones Such are the merciful
| words of Twala."
| After consulting with the others little, |
answered him in a loud voice, so that the
soldiers might hear thus:
go back, thou dog, to Twala, who sent
thee, and say that we, IgnOsi, vertable king
of the Kukuanas, Incubu, BOugwan, and
MacumaZahn, the wise white ones from the
| CtaTc Xxyhn mo lya Al arLy N InfaHpns Of
the royal house, and the chiefs, captains, and
people here gathered, make answer and say
That we will not surrender; that before the
sun has twice gone down Twalas corpse
shall stitfen at Twala's gates, and lgnOsi
whose father Twaa slew, shall reign in his
stead Now 20, ere we whip thee away, and
beware how ye lift hand against such as
We"
The herald laughed loud. Eye brighten
not men with such swelling words" he cried
| out. SHOW yourself as bold tomorrow, .
We who darken the sun! Be bold, fight, and
| be merry, before the crows pick your bones
till they are whittier than your faces. Fare
| well; perhaps we may meet in the fight;
wait for me, pray white men," And with
| this shaft of sarcasm he retired, and almost
| Immediately the sun sunk.
| That night was busy one for u.s. for as far
as was possible by the moonlight all prepare
tons for the mOrrOw'S fight were continued
Messengers were constantly coming and
| going from the place where we sat in cOun-
| Gil. AT last about an hour after midnight,
everything that could be done was done, and
the camp, save for the occasional challenge
of a sentry, sunk into sleep. Sir Henry and
|. accompanied by lgnOsi and one of the
chiefs, descended the hill and made the
round of the vedettes. As we went, sudden
| ly from all sorts Of unexpected places,
spears CLEANED out in the moonlight only to
vanish again as we uttered the password.
1t was clear to us that none were sleeping at
their posts. Then we returned, picking our
way through thousands of sleeping warriors,
many of whom were taking their last earth
ly rest
The moonlight iickered along their spears
and played upon their features and made
them CHASTITY; the chilly night wind tossed
their tall and hearSe-like plumeS There
they lay in wild confusion, with arms out
stretched and twisted limbs; their stern,
stalwart forms looking weird and unhuman
in the moonlight.
How many of these do you suppose will
be alive at this time tomorrow asked Sir
Henry.
| shook my head and looked again at the
sleeping men, and to my tired and yet ex-
cited Imagination it seemed as though death
had already touched them. My minds eye
singled out those who were sealed to slaugh-